Seasons of Extraordinary
by ilni123
Summary: Sharkkit, petalkit, and wolfkit are all kits of Thunderclan's leader. But read on as this story unfolds, romance, mystery, and many many new surprises. Will the three be able to handle them? Or will they break down?
1. Allegiances of Thunderclan

Thunderclan:

Leader: Eaglestar: Brown tabby tom with dark brown stripes, and white belly, chest, paws, and tail-tip, and blue eyes.

Deputy: Rocktail: Big grey tom, with amber eyes.

Medicine cat: Buzzardfur: stocky grey tom with black paws, and tail-tip, and green eyes.

WARRIORS:

Dewstorm: little brown tom with a dark brown tail-tip, and green eyes.

Lilyleaf: Orange she-cat with amber eyes.

Whitepelt: huge white tom with amber eyes.

Swiftpelt: Golden tabby tom with green eyes.

Bearstripe: huge brown tom with a darker stripe down his back, and green eyes.

Redbird: orange tabby she-cat with a white paw and icy blue eyes.

Badgerheart: dark grey tom with white underbelly, mask, tail tip and amber eyes.

Mudstripe: dark brown tom with darker brown ears and yellow eyes.

APPRENTICES:

Flowerpaw: silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes.

Tigerpaw: dark brown tabby tom with blue eyes.

QUEENS:

Willowleaf: beautiful light grey she-cat with white paws, and yellow eyes.

KITS:

Rosekit: creamy she-kit with bright amber eyes.

Stonekit: grey tom kit with dark grey stripes under his blue eyes.

Sharkkit: grey tabby tom with darker grey stripes and blue eyes.

Petalkit: white she-kit with a short, cream coloured tail, ears and amber eyes.

Wolfkit: reddish brown tabby tom with cream coloured underbelly, and muzzle and green eyes.

ELDERS:

Snakefang: grey tabby tom with black zig-zag stripes, greying muzzle, and pale amber eyes.

Tumblepelt: Scruffy dark brown tom with white around his eyes and tail tip

Deerspring: Grey she cat with a unique design of stripes on her pelt.


	2. The legacy

"I'm going to get you!" Yowled Petalkit, flinging herself at her brother, Sharkkit.

"You can't 'get' what you can't see!" Growled the little kit before turning and ducking out of Thunderclan's nursery. Wolfkit quickly dashed after his littermates, hoping they would not get them into trouble, AGAIN.

As Wolfkit passed through the clearing, he saw Willowleaf lying on a rock, belly round and plump, enjoying the warm rays of the sun. Her long, ginger fur sparkled in the sunlight. Her mate, Whitepelt, padded up to her with a fresh squirrel in his mouth. _Only a matter of time before she kits_, Wolfkit thought. The sound of his siblings shook him from his thoughts.

"Guys, stop before Eaglestar sees you!" He hissed. A snort of amusement caused him to look up to the highrock.

"I've been watching them from the minute they left the Nursery." He said stepping down from his ledge. Wolfkit could see the air of melancholy that surrounded him. He and his siblings were his and Lilyfur's last litter, before she joined Starclan.

His siblings immediately stopped their play fighting, and ran up to their father.

"Eaglestar, do you have any prey for us?" Asked Sharkkit.

"Is prey all you think about, mousebrain?" Petalkit teased.

"No!" protested Sharkkit, "I think about plenty of things, like….. What's going to be my warrior name, and will I become the next leader…." Wolfkit and Petalkit exchanged an exaggerated glance.

"Wow. You've got a lot going on up there." Eaglestar mewed. Petalkit snickered.

Sharkkit proudly lifted his head, and puffed out his chest.

"Why thank you Eaglestar." He meowed. Petalkit then burst out laughing, followed shortly by Wolfkit.

All of a sudden, there was a caterwaul of noise, coming from Willowleaf. Every cat within the camp rushed towards her.

"Make way!" Shouted Buzzardfur, the clan medicine cat, while rushing towards the struggling she-cat, "Willowleaf, please, to the Nursery." Cats turned their heads quickly towards him, shocked at his gentleness. Buzzardfur scowled.

Willowleaf slowly and carefully walked towards the den, Whitepelt by her side.

"Will she be alright?" asked an anxious Leaflily. Rocktail, her mate, bent down and licked her ears reassuringly. "Of course, she will be. Your kitting wasn't so hard, now was it?" He asked. Leaflily spun around.

"It was VERY hard!"

"But wasn't it worth it?"

"Every second." She meowed, glancing lovingly at her kits, Tigerpaw, and Flowerpaw, her fur lying back down smoothly.

Sharkkit stuck out his tongue, and pretended to throw up. Eaglestar cuffed his ear. "Wait until you have kits." He snorted.

A terrible yowl sounded from the Nursery. Buzzardfur rushed out. "Flowerpaw, go with (he looked around, an image flashed in his head and a sweet voice whispered to him) Sharkkit, and find a tough stick."

"Why?" Sharkkit asked.

"So she can bite down on it." He replied

"No I mean why me?"

"Just go!" he hissed.

Sharkkit and Flowerpaw ran out of the clearing, side by side.

Wolfkit turned back to Eaglestar. "Yeah, why him?" he asked. Eaglestar began to lie down. "Must have a reason, right?" Eaglestar shrugged. Wolfkit saw that even when his father was lying down, he was a lot bigger than him. Wolfkit then tucked in beside him. Petalkit turned to them with a puzzled look on her face.

"Why are you lying down? Shouldn't we go help?" she asked.

Eaglestar shook his head. "Buzzardfur will take care of everything, plus we can't really help, we can only look." He gazed into space, lost in memories.

A couple of heartbeats later, Sharkkit and Flowerpaw came bounding, carrying a big stick between them. They handed it to Buzzardfur. He gasped. "Where did you find this?" he asked.

"By the lake, why?" asked Sharkkit. Buzzardfur shook his head and ran towards the Nursery, stick in his mouth.

No.

_The_ stick in his mouth.

"Sharkkit, from this moment on you will be known as Sharkpaw. Your mentor will be Leaflily." Eaglestar turned to her. "I hope you pass on your courage and energy to this young apprentice."

"Petalkit, from this moment on you will be known as Petalpaw. Your mentor will be Tigerpelt. I hope you pass on your speed and bravery onto this apprentice." Tigerpelt nodded, honored.

"Wolfkit, from this moment on you will be known as Wolfpaw. Your mentor will be Swiftpelt." Wolfpaw's eyes widened." I hope you pass on your strength and loyalty onto this apprentice."

The 3 new apprentices touched noses with their new mentors.

"Sharkpaw! Petalpaw! Wolfpaw! Sharkpaw! Petalpaw! Wolfpaw!" The clan chanted.

Petalpaw purred. "I feel so loved!"

"Duh, it's custom." Sharkpaw meowed.

Eaglestar padded up to them. "So are you ready to explore the territory?"

"YES!" They chorused.

"Then its time." He nodded towards their mentors.

"Do you like what you see?" asked Tigerpelt.

"Like it!?" meowed Petalpaw, "I LOVE it!"

"I felt the same way." Tigerpelt replied.

"Ok, tell me, Sharkpaw, what do you smell?" Asked his mentor, Leaflily.

"Prey!" He mewed happily.

"What else?" She sighed.

He stuck his nose in the air.

"Hmmmm, I don't know what it is, but it smells like fish…" The senior warriors exchanged glances. Swiftpelt sniffed the air.

"He's right. What does Riverclan want now?" He growled.

"Hey, umm, guys-" Wolfpaw started.

"Don't worry; Eaglestar is on good terms with Bumblestar." Leaflily reassured.

"No-"Wolfpaw was again interrupted.

"Sadly Bumblestar joined our ancestors." A sad voice mewed. The group spun around. Out of the bushes came three cats.

"Falconclaw, Weedwhisker, and…?" meowed Swiftpelt.

"Rainpaw." Falconclaw finished, "And, well, I am being promoted to leader." Rainpaw walked over to Petalpaw while the warriors gathered in a tight circle.

"What is your name?" He asked politely.

"M-me? You want to know my name?" Petalpaw stammered. Rainpaw chuckled.

"Yes, yours."

"It's, uhh, it is…. My name is-"She stammered, her eyes boring into his.

"Petalpaw. Your name is Petalpaw." Sharkpaw finished, "And I'm Sharkpaw."

"Nice name, Petalpaw." Rainpaw went on, completely ignoring Sharkpaw.

"Thanks." Blushing, Petalpaw looked at her paws.

Smiling, Rainpaw swept his tail across her back, sending shivers up Petalpaw's spine.

She purred.

Wolfpaw looked on with horror.

_No. Are my eyes fooling me or…..I have to stop this….._

Wolfpaw stepped in between Rainpaw and Petalpaw.

"Hi, I'm Wolfpaw. So who is your mentor?" He asked, all the while leading Rainpaw away with his tail.

"It's, uhh, Weedwhisker…" Rainpaw kept glancing at Petalpaw, who was staring back at him, a slight frown on her face.

"Come on, Rainpaw; there's go still temperamental Shadowclan to visit." Meowed Falconclaw.

Rainpaw quickly brushed past Wolfpaw and whispered in Petalpaw's ear, "I'll wait for you at the gathering by the great tree." Leaving Petalpaw blushing and anxiously awaiting their next meeting that night.

As the group of warriors and their apprentices padded to camp, Wolfpaw glanced behind him to see Petalpaw trailing behind. Wolfpaw slowed his pace so the two could talk.

"You know that it's against the warrior code to have a mate from the different clans. You know that right?" He asked gently. Petalpaw's turned on him, her fur on end.

"Of course I know that! Why do you ask!? Do you think I will betray Thunderclan or something!? I would never do anything to harm any other cat!" She spat. Wolfpaw started at the waves of anger coming from her.

"I know; I just wanted to remind you."

"I'm not a kit! Can you leave me alone?" And with that she stalked away, leaving Wolfpaw feeling a variety of things; but mostly anger towards the tom that started this.

Once back at the camp, Wolfpaw immediately went to the Nursery to check up on Willowleaf's kits, Stonekit and Rosekit. He stuck his head into the Nursery.

"Willowleaf?" Suddenly he saw two bright eyes pop open. Stonekit and Rosekit stumbled to a stop in front of him.

"Wolfpaw! You're here. The kits have been waiting for you since before your apprentice ceremony." Meowed Willowleaf.

"Do you mind if I take them outside to 'explore'?"

"Of course! Go ahead. Just be back soon, they have not eaten since sunhigh."

"Come on kits. Let's go." Wolfpaw purred.

"Wolfpaw, we are NOT kits." Said Stonekit in his unnaturally deep voice.

"Yeah. We are only two moons younger than you." Added Rosekit.

"Oops. My sincere apologies." Sometimes those kits amazed him, acting more grown up than his own siblings.

They sat by the fresh-kill pile, Wolfpaw dragging out a mouse and placing it in front of them to eat.

Rosekit sighed, her fur brushing Wolfpaw's. Wolfpaw looked at her.

"What is it?"

Rosekit looked back at him with her bright amber eyes.

"Don't laugh, ok?"

"Ok."

"It's just that…. You're so lucky you're an apprentice. I have to wait a whole two months." She quietly mewed, staring at the ground. Wolfpaw licked her soothingly.

"Two months will pass in a heartbeat. Don't worry. But when you _are_ made an apprentice, I bet you will be one of the best."

Rosekit purred.

"I hope so."


	3. Hunting

Sharkpaw raced through the trees, occasionally snagging his fur on brambles. He ran as fast as his oversized paws would carry him, zooming through the trees. Finally, he arrived at a hollow where 5 cats where waiting.

"Sorry I'm late," He panted, "Snakefang was in the middle of his story when Eaglestar saw that I was still in the camp, and sent me here."

His mentor, Leaflily cuffed him gently over his ear.

"No more excuses, alright?" Sharkpaw hung his head and mumbled an 'okay' before going to stand with his siblings.

"What are we doing today?" Sharkpaw whispered to his brother, Wolfpaw.

"We were supposed to be practicing battle moves with our mentors, but _someone_ decided to be late." He meowed.

"I said I was sorry." Sharkpaw mumbled.

Swiftpelt whipped around so that he was facing them.

"Alright apprentices. Let's get you to your mentors, and then I want each of you to find a way to pin down your mentors." He mewed with a smirk, knowing that it was way easier said than done.

"Sharkpaw, I think that really made up for your tardiness." Wolfpaw meowed on the way back from training.

Giggling, Petalpaw added, "I guess your humungous paws _are_ good for something; tripping mentors. Which is probably the only reason you fell on top of Leaflily, and do the impossible; be first place in something!"

Walking more confidently then on the way over to training, Sharkpaw replied, "Yes, well, I _am_ training to become leader, now aren't I?"

Wolfpaw sighed.

"You do know that there's no difference-" He stopped himself, knowing it was hopeless, and moved towards the nursery.

Before he could make it to the nursery, 2 small kits pounced on top of him.

"Wolfpaw! Guess what we overheard Eaglestar say!" Meowed Rosekit.

"What?"

"He said that it was time, and that we are going to be appointed apprentices today!"

Wolfpaw looked at Stonekit for confirmation. He could tell it was true because he was smiling and his eyes sparkled.

"Congratulation! I'm so proud!" He purred.

Purring, Rosekit brushed her fur against his.

"I told you," He whispered to her, "you're going to be the best of the best. And I'm going to be with you, every step of the way."

Well after moonhigh, Petalpaw made her way out of the camp, using the Dirtplace exit, careful to avoid Whitepelt, who was on guard duty that night. She headed to the same clearing, same time, she had been going to for over a quarter- moon.

Petalpaw went around trees, and dodged boulders, keeping up the same, rapid pace. When she arrived, she sat upon a boulder and waited with her tail wrapped over her paws.

Suddenly, she heard rustling to her right. She didn't bother to look up; she knew exactly whom it was. Instead, she licked her paw and drew it over her head.

"Petalpaw?" Came a voice behind her. Petalpaw finally turned around to face her acquaintance.

"Rainpaw!" She purred, and brushed against his fur, "I missed you so much!" She stepped back. "But why weren't you here last moonhigh? I waited for you the whole night." She pouted.

"That's the thing." He licked her ears. "My name's Rainfur now and I couldn't meet you because I had to have my vigil last moonhigh."

If it was possible, Petalpaw purred even louder.

"I feel so happy for you! That totally makes up for it!" She purred. "But doesn't that mean we can't meet anymore to play?"

Rainfur looked into her eyes.

"Have we always been meeting to play? Or is it because of something else?" He asked her, completely serious.

Petalpaw looked down.

"Well... I also come because I miss you, and I don't get to play like we do with my littermates."

She looked back at him, mischief shinning in her eyes.

"Unless _you_ come here for something else?"

Rainfur gave his chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks.

"Well, you see….." He looked up, about to her exactly why he always comes, but she wasn't there.

"Petalpa- " Suddenly a weight fell on him. Rainfur struggled until he could see his ambusher.

"Constant Vigilance, we were taught so the first day out on training." Petalpaw meowed.

The first rays of the sun started shining through the trees. Birds came out of their hollows, chirping their songs.

"We'd better go," Mewed Petalpaw, "See you next moonhigh?"

Before Rainfur could answer, Petalpaw touched his nose with hers and sped through the forest, leaving only the faint, yet sweet smell of her behind.

"Let all cats that are old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highrock for a clan meeting." Eaglestar called out.

The cats who were sharing tongues looked up, curious about why Eaglestar would call a clan meeting. Cats stuck their heads out of the dens, looking either sleepy, or curious. Petalpaw, Sharkpaw, Wolfpaw, and their mentors returned from their training session, only to see Rosekit and Stonekit bouncing with joy.

"Come here Rosekit and Stonekit." Eaglestar beckoned to them with a swish of his tail.

"It has come to my attention that you two are now 6 moons old." He smiled down at them. "Therefore, now is the time for your apprentice ceremony, although I bet you have already heard." He meowed with a knowing look in his eyes.

Face red, Rosekit looked down at her paws.

"Rosekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rosepaw. Your mentor will be Rocktail." Rosekit looked at her mentor, her eyes shining. "I hope Rocktail will pass down all he knows on to you. Rocktail, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from-" Here he paused, his eyes clouding. Every cat knew who he was speaking of, and they hung their heads. "Lilyfur." He finally choked out.

"And you have shown yourself to be loyal and hardworking. You will be the mentor of Rosepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

Rocktail briskly nodded, and turned to touch noses with Rosepaw.

"Stonekit, you have also reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stonepaw. I will be your mentor." He bowed down to touch noses with Stonepaw.

Stonepaw stood tall and proud, glowing in the warmth of his clanmates' friendly yowls.

"Rosepaw! Stonepaw! Rosepaw! Stonepaw! Rosepaw! Stonepaw!"

The sun shone brightly, casting a golden hue on the pelts on Wolfpaw, Stonepaw, and Rosepaw as they made their way to the training hollow.

"Wolfpaw, where are Sharkpaw and Petalpaw?" Meowed Rosepaw, curious.

Wolfpaw smiled sadly.

"Petalpaw was caught while she was coming back from the "Dirtplace", but I smelt the forest on her pelt, and she was looking pretty tired." He sighed. "Eaglestar probably knew she was lying also, and made her stay behind and clean Snakefang, Deerspring, and Tumblepelt's furs. Might take another sunrise just to clean Tumblepelt's fur; I have heard that in all the days that Tumblepelt was able to, he would roll around at the top of the cliff, by the patch of feverfew Buzzardfur always grows." He smirked. "Must be why he never gets any sore paws by rolling around in those all day!"

Rosepaw cocked her head.

"How do you know that?"

Wolfpaw blushed. "Well… I find it interesting that plants could help cure us. I take it upon myself to know all of them and their uses."

"You are the smartest cat ever." She purred, touching his shoulder with her tail tip.

Stonepaw, who had been listening quietly to this whole exchange, thought to himself, _Rosepaw and Wolfpaw are getting incredibly close. _He thought with a smirk.

"Oh, and Sharkpaw, well he's still sleeping."

The three continued padding slowly to the training hollow, their mentors ahead of them, bragging about how well their apprentices were doing.

"Petalpaw has been improving greatly; she has terrific balance!" Bragged Tigerpelt.

"To bad she's bad at camp checking the elders for fleas! If she were here I would ask her to demonstrate her "awesomeness". Replied Leaflily.

The other mentors laughed, while an embarrassed Tigerpelt slowed his pace so that he could speak to Wolfpaw alone.

"Rosepaw's getting along nicely, I see."

Wolfpaw looked at his littermate's mentor.

"And I hear Rocktail's having another litter… wonder how she will do with kits…" He looked at Wolfpaw, winked, and quickly hurried to catch up with the other mentors, leaving a very embarrassed Wolfpaw behind.

Rosepaw padded up to him and rested her tail on his shoulder.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yup, everything's fine." He mewed, refusing to look at her. "Everything's normal." He said, half to himself.

_Do I like her that way? Would I want her to be my mate? And are we _that_ obvious?_

Wolfpaw shook his head. _I'm _way_ too young for that….plus; she probably doesn't like me that way._

Distracted, Wolfpaw didn't see the tree root, which was buried half inside the ground. He tripped, and looked up to find a bewildered Rosepaw, looking at him, startled.

"Umm, are you sure you're ok?" She asked him.

Behind her, Stonepaw stood, with a knowing look in his eyes.

Face redder than ever, Wolfpaw smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and entered the training hollow.

He felt the fur prickle at the back of his neck, and knew that Rosepaw was watching him, very confused.

Sharkpaw awoke to the sound of cats meowing, the sun high in the sky. Yawning, he got up and stretched, ready for a day of training.

As he got out, he immediately saw Flowerwing heading towards him.

"Sharkpaw? What are you still doing here? Wolfpaw, Rosepaw, and Stonepaw left right after sunrise." She meowed.

Sharkpaw's eyes widened in shock.

"Then, I- I have to go!" He raced towards the camp exit, but before he could get there, Rocktail, the clan deputy, stepped into his path.

"Not so fast. Since you're already so late, you might as well stay and help Flowerwing hunt some prey. The fresh-kill pile is already stocked, but it's better to be safe, then sorry."

"Ok, sure! Er, well, that is if Flowerwing would go with me…." Sharkpaw mewed.

Flowerwing flicked her tail, amused.

"Of course I'll go mousebrain!" She purred.

With that, she sped off towards the forest, leaving Sharkpaw to follow after her.

Sharkpaw crouched, his eyes on his prey. The squirrel was minding its own business, not aware that it was being hunted. Suddenly, a bush rustled in the distance, scaring away the squirrel.

Flowerwing came out of the bushes with a mouse and thrush in her mouth. Sharkpaw looked up, annoyed.

"Mousedung! The squirrel got away!" Sharkpaw stood up, frowning.

Flowerwing came up next to him, and put her prey on the forest floor.

"I'm sorry, Sharkpaw," She stroked her tail along his spine, "I didn't know you were still hunting." She purred.

Sharkpaw looked at her, smiling dreamily. Suddenly his wits returned to him and he frowned.

"Oh, it's alright I guess. But now I don't have anything to show to Eaglestar and Rocktail."

Flowerwing looked at him, amused. "That's what you were worrying about?" She asked.

Sharkpaw looked at the ground for a moment, then slowly nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"It's alright." She mewed gently, "I'll give you my thrush. Is that alright with you? Then you could show Eaglestar that you are _one fine warrior_." She said that like she really meant it, and Sharkpaw suddenly felt his face heat up.

"You don't have to do that." He said while looking at the ground.

Flowerwing smiled. "It's ok; I want to." She purred. Sharkpaw looked up, surprised at the warm in her voice.

Swiftly, Flowerwing licked his cheek, grabbed her mouse, and hurried off. Sharkpaw stood stiffly, eyes wide with surprise. Slowly, a blush crept onto his face, and he gave his chest a swift and embarrassed lick.

Flowerwing looked back.

"Coming?" She asked. Sharkpaw blinked.

"I'll race you!" She winked, turned, and then ran swiftly towards the camp.

Sharkpaw slowly grinned. He grabbed the thrush that was at his paws, and raced after Flowerwing, purring.


	4. The Gathering

It was the night of the full moon. Eaglestar signaled for Thunderclan to leave. As Thunderclan walked towards the island, Wolfpaw, along with his littermates, Petalpaw and Sharkpaw, trailed behind, caught up in their own conversations.

"Do you think Blazestar will try to control the gathering again?" Asked Sharkpaw.

"I honestly don't know Sharkpaw," Wolfpaw sighed, "But Blazestar always seems to have something or another up his paws."

"Like last time; he made Ducktail hunt him a mouse." Meowed Petalpaw.

"And Ducktail isn't even in Blazestar's clan!" Added Wolfpaw.

As Thunderclan arrived for the gathering, the 3 littermates went off in different directions; Petalpaw went to go find Rainfur, Wolfpaw went over to the medicine cat apprentices, and Sharkpaw continued forward with Thunderclan.

Petalpaw looked about, searching for the familiar grey pelt in Riverclan.

She walked around, impatiently flicking her tail. Then, she spotted him among a group of young warriors and apprentices. She walked up to him, overexcited. It took all her willpower not to show it on the outside.

"Hello!" She meowed, "How's the hunting going in Riverclan?"

"Fine." Replied an apprentice by the looks of it, stiffly, "Not that you should care."

A larger, darker tom cuffed his ear.

"This is a gathering; we are supposed to share news with anyone who bothers to listen." He growled. He turned to Petalpaw, a look of apology evident in his eyes.

"Sorry about Fishpaw; this is his first gathering, and it's taking him a bit of time to adjust to the large number of cats here."

Petalpaw purred.

"It's alright. I know how hard it is to get accustomed to the large ranks."

A yowl caused them to look up; the gathering was starting.

"Cats of all clans!" Meowed Blazestar, leader of Shadowclan, "This meeting has now begun! But before that," He pointed his paw lazily at a random cat, who happened to be Wolfpaw, "You shall go and fetch me a minnow." Wolfpaw, anxious not to get on his bad side, sped off towards the forest in search of a minnow.

"Shadowclan's doing well, a new litter of kits and a new warrior… the rest, I can't remember so…on to Riverclan." He beckoned forth Falconstar.

Casting a suspicion glance at Blazestar, Falconstar padded forward.

"Riverclan is managing fine. Our kits are growing into fine warriors, and recently a new kit was apprenticed, Fishpaw." He said through the cheers, "Although I wish that we had more kits, we are prospering." He mewed in his gentle voice.

"Windclan?" Called Blazestar, "And could someone keep an eye out for that puny apprentice; I'm getting hungry."

Hawkstar moved forward.

"As Falconstar has said, Windclan too has plenty of prey, and although we don't have any new warriors yet, I have very high expectations from all of you." He smiled down at his clan.

There was a rustle in the trees, and Wolfpaw rushed out, a large minnow in his mouth. He waited at the base of the great tree for permission to give the prey to Blazestar. Blazestar flicked his tail, and Wolfpaw climbed up, deposited the minnow at his paws, and rejoined the medicine cat apprentices.

As Blazestar was busy evaluating his minnow, Eaglestar stepped forth.

"The prey in Thunderclan is as plentiful as ever. We may not have any new apprentices or warriors at the moment; I know that soon we will." And with that, he jumped off the great tree followed closely by Hawkstar and Falconstar, and soon Blazestar, too, jumped off.

Petalpaw turned to Rainfur, who was sitting beside her.

"It's amazing how Hawkstar, Eaglestar, and Falconstar all look so similar; they're all brown tabby toms with blue eyes."

"Yes, but don't look identical; Eaglestar has white belly fur, Hawkstar has peach belly fur, and Falconstar has light brown belly fur." Rainfur pointed out.

Petalpaw rolled her eyes.

"But that's the only difference! Other than that, they are identical!"

"So you are saying that your father is somehow related to my leader, and Windclan's leader?" He asked, exasperated.

"Yes! Exactly!" She almost shouted.

"Woah! Calm down!" He rested his tail on her shoulder, "But it seems highly unlikely, doesn't it?"

Petalpaw nodded, defeated. "Yes, I guess it is."

Wolfpaw returned to camp, barely keeping his eyes open. He padded silently to his den, and lay down in his nest, which was next to Rosepaw's, and let his fur brush hers.

Rosepaw opened one eye.

"How was the gathering?" She asked drowsily.

"Great… I had to fetch Blazestar his prey…" He replied slowly, his eyes closed.

Rosepaw snorted.

"How did he like it?"

"The minnow I caught for him… It was huge….could barely carry it in my mouth."

"Wow. That's something. Listen Wolfpaw, I need to tell you something. I- I think Eaglestar is-" she looked over at him, only to find him asleep.

Rosepaw sighed

_I will just have to tell him tomorrow._

Wolfpaw, Petalpaw, and Sharkpaw sat up straight, waiting for instructions from their mentors.

"Alright." Mewed Swiftpelt, "Today's the day; your warrior assessment."

Petalpaw's eyes widened while Sharkpaw bounced up and down; Wolfpaw sat calm and collected.

Leaflily continued, "Petalpaw, you will head towards the Shadowclan border, Wolfpaw you head to the Windclan border, and Sharkpaw, you will head towards the lake."

The apprentices stiffly nodded.

"Well? What are you waiting for? GO!" Barked Tigerpelt.

Sharkpaw crouched, his eyes on the squirrel ahead of him. He remembered all too well what happened the last time when he was hunting with Flowerwing.

Not hesitating this time, he leapt, and landed squarely on the squirrel. He nipped the back of its neck, killing it. _Thanks Starclan for this prey._

He dug a hole and placed the squirrel in it, saving it for later.

_Is that enough, or should I get more? I already have a squirrel, 2 mice, and a thrush._ Deciding that that was enough, he set off towards the places he had buried his prey.

When he returned to camp, he found that Wolfpaw was already there, a thrush and a crow at his paws.

"Nice bro! What a giant crow! Don't usually see those around here."

Embarrassed, Wolfpaw gave his chest fur a quick lick.

"Well, it is pretty old and was napping in the trees." He said modestly.

"Nonsense!" said Swiftpelt as he padded to Wolfpaw, "I saw you hunt it; you were as quiet as a mouse."

Snakefang stuck his head out of the elder's den.

"Did I hear anyone say mouse?" He croaked.

Sharkpaw chuckled.

"Yeah. Swiftpelt just called my brother a mouse."

"Oh. Well, young' un, do you mind getting me a mouse? I'm a bit hungry."

"Of course Snakefang."

As Sharkpaw padded towards the fresh-kill pile, has saw Flowerwing talking with Willowleaf. He caught Flowerwing's eye and she smiled at him.

Blushing, Sharkpaw reached down and plucked a big mouse from the fresh-kill pile and brought it to Snakefang.

On his way out again, he saw Petalpaw return, a frog and thrush in her mouth.

Sharkpaw wrinkled his nose at the sight.

"Alright. All three of you have returned. I shall go call Eaglestar." Announced Leaflily.

She climber up to the highrock, and disappeared inside Eaglestar's den. Seconds later, she and Eaglestar padded out.

Eaglestar approached them.

"Have my kits done alright?" He asked.

"Better than alright!" Grunted Tigerpelt.

"Good." He purred, "Then let's do this right away." He jumped onto the highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highrock for a clan meeting!"

Cats gathered from all over the camp. Flowerwing again caught Sharkpaw's eye, and this time she winked at him. Sharkpaw, flushed, and looked at his father.

"I, Eaglestar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down at these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of our noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in turn.

"Wolfpaw, Sharkpaw, and Petalpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." They chorused.

"The by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Wolfpaw, from this moment you will be known as Wolfstep. Starclan honors your wisdom, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan. Sharkpaw, from this moment you will be known as Sharkheart. Starclan honors your enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan. Petalpaw, from this moment you will be known as Petalpelt. Starclan honors your kindness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan."

Eaglestar stepped forward, and his kits all licked his shoulder, one at a time.

"Wolfstep! Sharkheart! Petalpelt! Wolfstep! Sharkheart! Petalpelt!"

Wolfstep lay on his side, sharing tongues with Rosepaw.

"So how's training going?"

"Great! Rocktail is showing me everything I could possibly need!" She paused, "But it is a bit lonely; Stonepaw always has private training with Eaglestar."

Wolfstep licked her ear. "That's alright. That means when you do train with him, you will give a surprise."

"You know," She sighed, "Now that you're a warrior, I feel so small next to you." And she was right. Wolfstep was now a little less than twice her size.

"It's ok, you-" He was interrupted by a yowl.

Dewstorm ran through the barrier, fur on end.

"Foxes! A group of foxes are heading towards camp!"

Whitepelt ran to him. "How many are there?" He asked franticly.

"Four. 2 adults and 2 kits."

Eaglestar jumped down from the highrock.

"Alright, no need to panic. Whitepelt, get all the kits up the slope. Take Flowerwing, Rosepaw. Willowleaf, could you help Snakefang up there as well? Buzzardfur, take Stonepaw and cover all the prey. Badgerheart, and Mudstripe, take the barrier. Bearstripe, and Redbird, track the fox kits, and make as least noise as possible. The rest of you, get ready for a fight."

Everyone nodded swiftly and went to their assigned positions.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and out came 2 adult foxes. They looked horrifying. Long snout combined with unruly fur. Their fur shined in the sunlight. They had their snouts in the air, sniffing. Whether it was for searching for their lost ones, or for searching for the cats, Wolfstep did not know.

The foxes turned abruptly to Badgerheart and Mudstripe, lips curled back in a snarl.

After a moment of hesitation, Badgerheart and Mudstripe sped out the gorse tunnel, closely followed by the foxes.

When the tip of the foxes' tail disappeared from sight, Redbird and Bearstripe approached the clan leader.

"The foxes may be gone, Eaglestar," Started Bearstripe in his deep voice, "But the kits are still wandering the territory and it won't be long before the adults come back for their kits."

Redbird nodded.

"If we send out a patrol to chase the kits into, let's say, Shadowclan territory, then the other two will bound to chase after them."

Eaglestar nodded approvingly. He looked at the panic stricken cats around him.

"Take Swiftpelt, Rocktail, Sharkheart, Stonepaw," He paused, "Wolfstep, and Rosepaw." He said to Bearstripe and Redbird. Rocktail, the clan deputy, nodded at each of the chosen patrol. "Well?" Eaglestar growled, "Go!"

Wolfstep and Rosepaw swiftly joined the other 6 of the patrol and they swiftly left through the barrier.

The moment Wolfstep stepped into the forest, the stink of fox almost overwhelmed him. Looking around, he saw that most of the others felt and looked likewise.

"Alright, Redbird, where did you last smell the kits?" Rocktail asked the older member of the patrol.

"Near the border with Shadowclan." She replied.

"Excellent. Let's go then." Rocktail instructed before bounding away towards the direction of the border.

The seven cats sped after Rocktail, Wolfstep and Rosepaw so close their fur brushed occasionally.

Moments later, the patrol entered an empty hollow. The smell of fox almost knocked Wolfstep out by now. He had no idea how Rosepaw could continue with so much determination, despite her small size.

A blur of movement at the end of Wolfstep's line of vision caught his attention. _The fox kits!_ He signaled with his tail towards the patrol and stalked towards the place where he had last seen them.

He jumped through the bushes and looked around.

A massive body smashed into him and knocked him to the ground. It was one of the fox kits! The other approached him slowly, growling deep in its throat.

Suddenly, a familiar-looking cream pelt smacked into it while another fought the one which had originally tackled him.

Still feeling a bit dizzy, Wolfstep stood and fought alongside his two saviors, switching between helping the two consecutively.

With another rustle in the bushes, the rest of the Thunderclan patrol entered the battle. It was now about 5 cats fighting each fox.

Within seconds, the fox kits retreated, leaving behind the husky smell of blood and fox in their wake.

Wolfstep was finally able to see his two saviors clearly. One of them, the cream furred one, collapsed to the ground, losing blood by the second. She lay there, hardly breathing. _Rosepaw_! Wolfstep rushed to her side and grabbed her scruff, trying to haul her back to camp; He hardly noticed the scars on his own flank.

Almost forgetting to thank his other savior, he turned to hastily to thank him/her, but stopped when he caught sight of him.

To his surprise, there stood Hawkstar, tall and regal-looking, gazing at him with a thoughtful look on his face.


End file.
